Wood workbench with metal brackets and stain

[jesse72]

I thought I would make this build thread about my new bench. I had a lot of questions about things and maybe this will help someone else too. Enjoy!

I wanted to someday have a US General / Harbor Freight 13 drawer box so I built this bench to be able to flush mount a cabinet without casters in both openings. It will sit on a 2x4 frame and slid into place. Someday that is...

I wanted to have an industrial look as well as extra heavy duty support so I used these steel corner and "T" brackets that are in the framing section of Lowes, they are about $2 each I think. I painted them with Rustolium Hammered Black.

It was about $130 worth of wood from Lowes.
4x4's for legs
2x4's for cross supports
3/4" sheet for bench top, I had them rip it for me into 2 sheets at 24"x 96" because it was easier than using my small table saw to do it. Came out perfect too.



Then cut it up and did a test fit of everything.
You see there are no middle supports in the picture, but they will be
Also you can see the small 1.5" over hang that I have in the front. This is made possible because I used a 2x4 as a back splash.



Then once I knew it all fit how it should I laid it out and stained it with one coat of MinWax Dark Walnut finish. Cost $7 at Lowes




Then it dried over night with a fan on it and the garage door cracked for ventilation.

After that, I started assembling.
Here is a mock up



Then with the frame assembled, I forgot to get a picture of the cross supports in the center but that's simple to imagine.



These clamps from Harbor Freight are cheep and work great! I screwed the first layer of plywood to the frame and center supports, then glued the second layer onto the first in order to have a completely flush top with no screws showing



Here it is fully assembled with no Ploy on top yet



Here is after 2 coats of MinWax Ploycrylic in clear semi-gloss. This was my first time staining or sealing anything so you can see some brush marks, but its just a work bench.



Vise in it's approximate position, not bolted yet because Im not sure where I want it. I got it for free out of the trash and fixed it up with Hammertone grey and a clear coat.



Here and here is the finished product! It came out how I wanted it to and like it a lot. But the problem is, its too nice to work on hahaha. I wanted to do the stain and ploy on it so that I could practice on something large because I want to be able to build and stain tables and cabinets in the future. So even though it is just a bench, its a little too nice.



The stuff on the shelves is all old Marine Corps gear I used in my times fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the pictures are of friends I have lost while there. Its cool to be able to look at everyday and reminisce on the good times.

Hope that you like the bench and can get some ideas from it, Ill dirty it up one of these days when I get a project to work on.
Now I need to find a nice old stool for it.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Looks great!

A little color makes such a difference to the 'look and feel' of a bench. It's an intangible, but it's also a pretty simple thing to do.

 

[brawls43]

Looks great all stained and poly'd up! I never seem to get around to painting or staining my stuff. Too many other projects.

 

[Gixxer603]

Looks great!

 

[JasonJ]

Looks awesome!

I wonder what it would like if you distressed the wood just a bit with a hand planer, beat it with a chain, etc.. before you stained it. Give it that reclaimed lumber look.

 

[Ray Kelly]

Wow!! You really did a super job, Jesse. The bench looks great!! You'll really be proud to work on that.

 

[nolimits76]

The stain and black brackets look really good together. Thanks for sharing. I plan on trying my hand at some stain work.

 

[crawler07]

looks great and I thank you for your service to our country..

 

[Kent_B]

Where did you source your brackets?

 

[nine4gmc]

Great job, the stain takes it from a "$130" work bench, to an expensive looking work of art!!

 

[KEH]

Double on the thanks for service.

I commented on the earlier thread about liking the metal brackets, now that I see more of your build process, I like them better.I've made metal brackets of a different style to support a different type of bench and they work fine.

Bench is fine. Vise is super for the price. Yet another example of using what yoy have.

Ok, what is the story on the implement seat?

KEH

 

[colt zantop]

Looks killer! Nice work

 

[zkling]

Great workbench for a great looking shop

If I could make one suggestion to put it over the top. Possibly a piece of solid wood to trim out the edge of the plywood. Just something to prevent splinters and the edge of the plywood from chipping.

 

[MacTexas]

Where did you source your brackets?

I have the same question?

 

[SlowAl]

They're probably just simpson strong-tie brackets. Seeing them painted and knowing how many different configurations are available is giving me ideas...

 

[jesse72]

Thanks everyone for all the compliments and comments. The stain really makes it feel like something my grandfather would have built and should last a long time. I'm really glad that everyone has liked it so far! If you have the time, staining was defiantly worth it!

The brackets are from Lowes and I found them in the section that has a large assortment of framing brackets such as joist hangers and things like that. There are a few different ones that you could use, I stood there looking at them all for at least 30 minutes trying to figure out what was the cheaper route that would still offer high strength.

The corners that I used, I cannot find a link to, were about $1.98 each and I used 8 of them. The "T" brackets are $4.13 and I used 2 of them.

KEH, I'm not sure what an "implement" seat is, but I'd love to answer your question so just let me know

White Feather, I like the name. Tribute to Carlos Hathcock the deadliest Marine Sniper in Vietnam? Try the stain out, its not as hard as I thought it would be and came out nice!

 

[KerryH]

That is fantastic, thanks so much for giving the details on the build!

 

[mtesh73]

the stain really dresses up the bench. nice work. a big thank you for your service!!

 

[fourkrings]

Nice job, I think will stain mine, too. Just will have to wait until I can clear it off enough to get the job done.

 

[jesse72]

Double on the thanks for service.

Ok, what is the story on the implement seat?

KEH

Hey KEH, I figured out what the implement seat was. Its a tractor seat I got it from a neighbor in a garage sale for a few bucks. It says "Kings River Castings" on it. Its cast aluminum. I made a stool out of it a while ago but didn't like the base that I used. I would rather find an old adjustable shop stool to use. Here is picture of it as a stool in my old garage and old bench.



On the bench is a military seat I saved from being scrap metal out of a Marine Corps EFV, an amphibious assault vehicle like a floating tank. I am still trying to figure out a way to make a cool seat out of it, don't know what kind of base to use yet. Maybe a squared stool base or something?

 

[BellyUpFish]

Great looking bench.

Thanks for your service!

 

[KEH]

Implement seat refers to that type of seat being used on horse drawn implements such as plows, rakes, mowers, etc. Also used on earlier tractors. I looked up kings river castings and found that it is a Sanger, CA company and that particular seat is for a bar stool, didn't see as nice a frame as the one on yours, though. Also couldn't find the price listed, but it's probably a LOT more than you paid for it. I knew it was a modern reproduction when you mentioned cast aluminum. Actual working ones back in the day were pressed steel or earlier ones were cast iron. Prices for antique cast iron ones vary as to what the traffic will bear, probably starting at $50, but I never have really had enough interest to check them out.

KEH

 

[jesse72]

KEH, thanks for the detailed info on the seat! I never looked the company up but now I will for sure

 

[marty_p]

Jesse, thanks for your service, and for sharing your bench build!!!

 

[maddog1949]

Semper Fi

 

[IlliniBone]

I thought I would make this build thread about my new bench. I had a lot of questions about things and maybe this will help someone else too. Enjoy!

I wanted to someday have a US General / Harbor Freight 13 drawer box so I built this bench to be able to flush mount a cabinet without casters in both openings. It will sit on a 2x4 frame and slid into place. Someday that is...

I wanted to have an industrial look as well as extra heavy duty support so I used these steel corner and "T" brackets that are in the framing section of Lowes, they are about $2 each I think. I painted them with Rustolium Hammered Black.

Hope that you like the bench and can get some ideas from it, Ill dirty it up one of these days when I get a project to work on.
Now I need to find a nice old stool for it.

Jesse, just curious if the brackets were enough to support the bench or if you also used some pocket holes? I like the use of the dark stain and black brackets, looks very nice.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Weird this post was bumped today.. I was thinking about the bench last night.. I'm still trying to decide if I want to stain mine..

 

[jesse72]

Jesse, just curious if the brackets were enough to support the bench or if you also used some pocket holes? I like the use of the dark stain and black brackets, looks very nice.

Thanks! I did not use any pocket holes when building the bench. It is pretty sturdy as it is and if you look closely at the pictures, the center upright 4x4 is 'load bearing' since it is directly under the horizontal surface and not attached with a corer bracket, and also the top surface is directly secured onto the outer 4x4 uprights. I don't do a lot of super heavy work on it but wouldn't doubt its stability if I needed to. I've also sat on it and stood on it a few times and had no wobble.

Thanks everyone else for your compliments and comments!

 

[OJ Bartley]

Great looking bench! I saw the post in the workbench thread and had to come over to see your build. The stain really makes a huge difference. I had been wondering about staining the bench I'm planning to build, but I think you might have made up my mind for me.

 

[jesse72]

Great looking bench! I saw the post in the workbench thread and had to come over to see your build. The stain really makes a huge difference. I had been wondering about staining the bench I'm planning to build, but I think you might have made up my mind for me.

Thanks for the compliments and I hope that you like how your bench turns out! Post pictures when your done!

 

[Throbbin Rods]

Regarding this bench I am making one very similar. I have a couple of questions as I am still up in the air on which way to go on some things.
1. Did you lag the 4x4 pieces together or just those angle brackets?
2. Are the horizontal pieces just under the benchtop 2x4 or 4x4?
3. Are those just 90 degree L brackets holding the 2x4 that runs across the back to the 4x4's?

Thanks in advance. This bench is functional, simplistic, and looks good to boot. I plan to incorporate some of your ideas. Thanks for sharing and thanks very much for your service

 

[bazzateer]

Your bench looks great, as you say - almost too nice to use!

Once I've fininshed my bench I'm also going to be staining it - got loads of stain for the garage so will use some of that.

 

[jesse72]

Regarding this bench I am making one very similar. I have a couple of questions as I am still up in the air on which way to go on some things.
1. Did you lag the 4x4 pieces together or just those angle brackets?
2. Are the horizontal pieces just under the benchtop 2x4 or 4x4?
3. Are those just 90 degree L brackets holding the 2x4 that runs across the back to the 4x4's?

Thanks in advance. This bench is functional, simplistic, and looks good to boot. I plan to incorporate some of your ideas. Thanks for sharing and thanks very much for your service

Thanks and I hope I can answer your questions!
1. I didn't lag anything on the bench except the small 4x4s at the mid point of the legs. The angle brackets are holding the other 4x4s and 2x4s together alone.
2. The horizontal pieces are 2x4's.
3. I think your talking about the 2x4's that run horizontally across the back about mid way up the 4x4 legs? Those are held with little L brackets. That isn't the most stable way to do it but it does keep it from wobbling. (I think using a lag through the 4x4 legs into 4x4's horizontally instead would be better.)

Let me know if that helped! Thanks

 

[Throbbin Rods]

Thanks a lot for getting back so quickly. I think I know what I am going to do now. I will have to wait until next disability check but I should have it done early in February. You should recognize some of the methods!

 

[quasi_accurate]

Looks great!

 

[rickyboy]

I found this thread by just "goggling" for plans to extend my work space/bench in my garage/shop. I was going to log into www.garagejournal.com to see what was posted here anyway. ......anyway, a great thread and bench you've accomplished. The design is just what I want, so I can actually sit at the bench if I want. The other section of my bench is made with old kitchen cupboards for storage with a good solid top. But.... I can't sit at that section of the bench and get my feet/stool under it. I have a desk where the computer sits but nothing where I can do any work and sit at a bench. I'll start this in the basement workshop ASAP and then hope to erect it in the garage, as soon it warms up a bit more. No rush !! It's nice to be retired with no deadlines.
Thanks for posting the the project. I'll still be searching the forum for additional ideas in the mean time. If anyone knows of other threads I'd appreciate hearing about them.
Thanks fellas

 

[HSpencer]

Hi. I caught a link to your shop from another thread you had posted in. I am amazed I missed your thread. Your bench and shop is excellent, I like everything about it. I hope you will post more as you can.

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[jesse72]

Thanks for the compliments! Ill try to get some more pictures soon, I still haven't gotten to buy a tool cabinet for one of the openings yet but someday I guess I will 'justify' it.

 

[gearhead9056]

I'm not much for wood benches but that sure looks sharp, and much thanks for your service

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dgithens1]

Great looking bench!